A look back on the week that was...

Current game word count: 42,766 (+ 2603 since last devlog)

With my Covid battle finally over (tip: don't get it, it sucks), I've been able to get back to writing again, so I managed to write a few thousand words these last few days. The game's final side character has been revealed (one of several you haven't seen yet in the demo), and it's been fun getting to know her by writing the first scenes in which she features. Other than that, the big news as of late is that I've finally revamped the game's UI, which I'll show you more of in a moment.

But first, can we just have a moment and appreciate this:

Yes, that's right, The Skirmish at Bender - my first ever Game Jam entry - ended up placing third among 116 games (many of which were legit awesome) in Historically Accurate Game Jam 5. I never expected that it would do so well, and I have to admit that this has been a massive boost in self-confidence regarding my ability to develop and write games. To commemorate, I released a brand new version 1.1 featuring fixes based on feedback I've received during the Jam. Enjoy!

Now, about that new Riva UI...?

Oh, yes! Back in late July 2021 when I started developing visual novels, and the inner workings of programming was a huge mystery to me (it still is, though not quite as much) I really wanted to use image buttons for my quick menu instead of text buttons. But I had no idea how to do it, so I let it be. Which is why the quick menu (at the bottom of the screen) has looked like this forever:

Now, however, the time of change is here, and the results speak for themselves, at least in my eyes:

Cool, right?! And yeah, the font has been enlarged as well, due to popular demand. :)

When hovering over these new buttons (from left to right: skip, auto play, history, RivaDex, RivaPedia, save/load & settings) a sound will play, which is also something that's been requested by my playtesters. If you prefer not to hear that sound, it can also be turned off. QoL for the win!

Lastly, I've pimped out my profile to make it more appealing and easy to digest. Feel free to have a look!

Time for me to sign off and prepare to go back to my job, which I'm doing tomorrow. Grade school teacher by day, game developer by night!!

After being gone for over a week it feels like I've almost forgotten how to do it, lol.  XD

All the best,

/Tymedust <3